


relentless, you will survive

by fallingmistinthedark



Series: Slipping [5]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Lance, Background Shalluratt w/ Established Shallura, Like 6 OC's I'm sorry, Like Keith is in there for a hot five minutes there okay, M/M, Major Character Injury, NaNoWriMo for me, Really really slow burn, Slipping, Slow Burn, Space Mercenary!Lance, Violence, blue paladin matt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-19
Updated: 2017-11-19
Packaged: 2019-02-04 12:34:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12771180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fallingmistinthedark/pseuds/fallingmistinthedark
Summary: Legends Never Die, they become a part of you,every time you bleed for reaching greatnessLance is off on his mission, guarding the scientists, making sure they get there data, and most importantly, rotting out the Galra spy amongst them. All while under the threat of being attacked by Lotor's ship, the Shade. Yeah, nothing can go wrong.-:-Everything goes wrong.





	relentless, you will survive

**Author's Note:**

> This honestly took me a surprisingly small amount of time to do (thanks NaNoWriMo!)! This is around 15.6K and 33 pages in Microsoft Word of Lance being a badass. Enjoy! 
> 
> (Also, please alert me to any errors! I don't have a Beta (but would happy if anyone wanted to), and I do it all myself while I'm writing... which leads to a lot of... interesting, to say the least, errors.)
> 
> >< = point of view switch
> 
> > = substantial time skip/change of topic
> 
> ~ = small time skip

_“Acxa, prepare my battleship,” Acxa looked over at her commander, barely concealing the flash of surprise she felt._

_“May I ask why, my Lord?” Acxa asked, watching as he turned back to her from his view of the planet they had exiled to._

_“It’s about time I checked on the Interference point and took my duties as emperor seriously,” Acxa almost shivered with her anticipation as things were finally put into motion. This was the moment she had been waiting for as she worked her way up to being the highest ranking general, and Lotor’s right-hand._

_“Of course, my Lord. When do you want everything readied?” Acxa asked, practice winning out over will when it came to keeping her anticipation out her voice._

_“Have it ready in a quintant. I have work to do.”_

><

Lance slipped silently through the empty hallways, using only muscle memory to guide him to where he needed to be. _This is ridiculous,_ Lance thought to himself, even as the Mission Impossible theme song started playing in his mind. He was still on the castleship, but he was technically not supposed to be out and about. Especially because, as he’d learned earlier, Shiro, Keith, Hunk, and Allura didn’t especially trust him. Pidge seemed ‘meh’ about the whole ordeal, and Matt and Coran had taken to defending him, but he didn’t want to risk moving them to action. 

Which is why he’d chosen this specific time to slip out of his room, because by now, Keith’s training session should have ended, and he should be safely in bed. Pidge should be passed out in either her workroom or her bedroom (more likely her bedroom now that Matt was here to help keep her from overworking herself), and Hunk’s midnight snack run was complete (yes, Hunk, everybody knows about those). Lance paused as he entered one of the main hallways outside the bridge, knowing that, unlike the others, Shiro’s sleep schedule was a complete mess. Honestly, Lance didn’t blame the guy. Even the very idea of Lance being delivered into Lotor’s hands had him having nightmares. That was also one of the reasons he’d chosen to leave. The nightmares were consuming him whole. 

Sighing when Lance saw exactly what he didn’t want to, he quietly crept closer to the man that was sitting against the wall, opposite to the door that held the hallway to both Alteans’ quarters. He knew because Coran took him to his room the first time Lance had had a nightmare (that’s where he’d gotten the sleeping mask). Crouching, carefully so to not disturb Shiro, Lance gently said his name. 

“Shiro,” Lance fought the urge to flinch. This voice, he’d never get used to it coming out when he expected his own. The man shifted at the call of his name, but by the tension in his brow, Lance could guess he was stuck in a nightmare. He tried again, lightly brushing the man’s shoulder this time, “Shiro.”

The man shifted more, mumbling something under his breath. To Lance, it sounded a lot like Common Galran. Common was the dialect spoken by the soldiers, citizens, children, and servants. It was also the dialect he’d learned during his time with the Blade. Formal Galran was reserved for royalty, high-ranking commanders, and druids. “Shiro,” he tried again, this time in Galran. The name was a lot different sounding than in earthen languages, but it was still the same name. Shiro’s eyes opened, slowly, as he blinked away whatever was holding him in it’s grasps. 

“Rayul?” Shiro asked, and Lance let out the breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. “What are you doing here?” And there it was. Lance froze, mind racing to come up with something. 

“I get homesick too, Paladin,” Lance chose to say, hoping it would garner him some sympathy. It seemed to work when the lines of Shiro’s face softened. The man nodded before trying to get to his feet, facing the direction of the training room. Lance’s face twisted in concern. That wasn’t where Shiro needed to be, with how much he obviously needed the support. “I believe, Paladin,” Lance started, unsure as to how the other would take it, “that for your condition, it would be more helpful to be in the arms of someone who loves you, than to overwork yourself.”

Shiro stiffened, turning to look back at Lance from where he’d gotten a few steps down the hall. “You knew?” Lance laughed behind the mask, shaking his head. 

“Everyone with eyes knew, Paladin. Now go to your Princess. I’m sure she would welcome you with open arms and a smile on her face,” Lance told him. Shiro smiled, a fond quirk of his lips that Lance often saw on either of his parent’s faces as they looked at each other, from across rooms, or right next to each other. Lance smiled behind his mask at the memory as he watched Shiro turn and go through the door. Lance waited for another few minutes, cheering Shiro on. When the other man didn’t come back through the door, Lance smiled and continued on his way, continuing to slip through the halls as the Mission Impossible theme song got louder in his head. 

Blue rumbled her laughter in his head, a welcome distraction from the near silence of the halls. He smiled, hurrying his steps just a little to get to his pretty lady faster. Blue approved, if her purring was anything to go by. It got louder the closer he got, and once he opened her hangar’s door, her eyes lit up and her tail started swaying back and forth. Her tail stopped swaying when she realized he still had his mask on. 

Blue sent him an image of him without his mask on, and sighing, he relented. He reached up, undoing his mask and setting it down on the countertop near the door. Matt had done a good job of organizing Blue’s cleaning supplies, he noticed as he did so.  
“Matt taking good care of you for me, beautiful?” He asked. Blue hummed her agreement with an image of Matt laughing at what she implied him was his own joke, working extra hard to clean a spot that had been damaged previously. Lance chuckled, inspecting the Hangar for anything he knew Blue would dislike. She may be the most accepting of Lions, but she certainly did not accept anything less than organization. Or maybe that was just because she knew if she let her paladins with their minds going a mile a minute leave anything in a different spot, they’d never find it. She had told him that much about Blaytz, and he could infer Matt was the same way. 

She offered the Lion equivalent of a chuckle at his inspections, insuring him that everything was to her liking. Matt had an odd way of talking, she noted, but she had become fond of it as time passed. Lance winced at the way it reminded him of how he’d left. Blue sent him the faint impression of a head shake. 

_Don’t blame you,_ Blue said, head angled just so, so that she could take in his form. Lance smiled up at her, willing himself not to cry. What he had had done to Blue, to all of them really, was inexcusable. But he’d rather them think he was dead than have them be dead, or worse, slaves to the Galra. 

“Thank you, Blue, but I do have to apologize. To you, to Coran, to everyone once it’s safe for them to find out,” Lance says, and while Blue doesn’t disagree with him, she isn’t agreeing with him either. She doesn’t say anything, but she does send him an image of him, the last time she saw him. He gets what she’s trying to say, but what’s bothering him is her lack of worded replies. 

_Bond not strong enough yet,_ she says simply once the question enters his mind. He grimaces. Of course the bond isn’t strong enough yet. He’d practically built a skyscraper between his mind and hers, after all. _Not your fault,_ she adds hastily, though it doesn’t stop him from putting some of the blame on himself. 

“I’m sorry, Blue. I at least wanted to tell you that. You deserve that much, as pretty as you are,” Lance says, stepping closer to her. “May I sit on your paw again? Like we always used to do?” She sends him her excitement at the question, and he smiles, sinking down into the crook between her paw and her leg. 

“So how’s the gang been doing in fights since I’ve been gone?” Lance asks, and she sends him her indifference. There’s been hard ones, easy ones, and ones in between, she tells him through all the images she sends, flashing fast underneath his eyelids. He hums at each one, concern flaring every time she shows Keith doing some unnecessary bullshit maneuver that, while it ends up working, could’ve ended catastrophically. Blue agrees with him, he can tell, especially because she’s the one who can feel Red’s worry for his paladin, and then anger once Keith has been healed, especially if the first thing Keith does once he gets out of the healing pod is go straight to the training room. 

Lance agrees with that. He always hated getting out of the healing pods, and all he wanted to do was sleep off the heaviness of his limbs. Keith needs to rest after something like that. Blue growls out her agreement and he laughs along to it. He knows the Lions are connected to each other, so everything one feels, the others feel to some degree. They must all be worried about Keith, since they care so much for their pride-mate. 

Blue shifts a little, just enough for him to be completely comfortable. Lance always loved that aspect of Blue. She mothers him, sometimes more than his own mother and older sisters did and it’s a nice change to be mothered instead of the one mothering, as he had during that dark period when Shiro had gone missing. 

Lance sighs as Blue passes images to him, going on and on about the things the team had done when he was away. They both agreed to call it that, away, because the other terms for it were less than comfortable for both of them. Blue purrs all the while, until, suddenly, near the end of it, another presence presses cautiously to his mind. It feels warm, passionate, and Lance all at once recognizes who it is. Red seems to have a conversation with Blue that passes too quickly for Lance to keep up with, until Blue gently sets Lance upright with her paw, and instructs him to get to Red’s hangar, entirely with images. 

Blinking his eyes open, Lance feels a bit of vertigo strike him to find he’s standing up when he expected to still be sitting. Blue laughs at him, though a sheen of sadness covers it. _Our time has been cut short, little ocean. Now get to Red before I try to keep you here for myself,_ Blue tells him, voice fading, until he can’t hear her anymore. Her eyes dim, and then suddenly, she’s but a hum in the back of his mind, calming him down and letting him know that she’s there for him, always. 

He walks over to the counter where his mask sits, and raises it back to his face. It automatically connects, and he goes on his way. Blue hums steadily, feeling perfectly comfortable back in his mind where she seems to think she should always be. Lance is inclined to agree with her.

His journey to Red’s hangar doesn’t last long at all as his mind processes everything that happened during his conversation with Blue. Red is imposing, even being the smallest of the Lions. Red’s eyes come alive, and all at once Red is looking at him. 

_Did you know my paladin is thinking of joining the Blade?_ Red asks, and Lance’s mind blanks. He really hadn’t, but knowing Keith and his stupid actual Blade dagger, he knows it’s probably not a stretch. 

“No, but what do you want me to do?” Lance asks, and Red hums as they think in the back of his mind. “He doesn’t particularly listen to anyone very well, especially not the shady mercenary who now occupies a room in the Castle, where they could attempt and likely succeed to kill anyone in it.” Red grumbles in distaste. 

_You’re right, of course, but I have reason to believe you won’t try anything of the sort,_ Red tells him, sending him the Lion equivalent of a shrug. _No, little ocean, all I wish is for you to watch over my little flame, if he does decide to do it,_ Red tells him, and Lance nods, since that was about what he was expecting. Each Lion is fiercely protective of their paladins, Lance knows from experience, plus, he was Red’s paladin for a time, until they found Shiro again. 

“Of course, Red,” Lance tells him, and Red nods, eyes going dim again now that he’s gotten what he wanted. Red was never one for extended conversation and pleasantries. 

_I guess it is because we have similar interests, do we not?_ Red told him, chuckling as his voice faded. Lance frowned, wondering what the Lion meant, but of course he already knew. Nothing was safe when the Lions could literally read your thoughts. “Thanks, Red,” Lance whisper-yells into the empty room, despite knowing he wouldn’t get a reply back. However, Red’s presence in the back of his mind laughs. Blue glares at Red, or at least he gets the impression she is. 

He shrugs, deciding he really needs to make a list when it comes to talking with the Lions because _damn it, Red, I haven’t talked to you in like a year how can you use complete sentences with me, I forgot to ask_. Yep, put that on his to-do list. Make a list about the things he needs to ask the Lions, because this is just getting ridiculous.

Lance walks out the door without bothering to check if anyone’s looking at him, or in the general vicinity, because everybody’s asleep and he’d really like to join them in enough time to sleep for the mission tomorrow. Except, turns out that was a mistake, because suddenly there’s a large hand on his collar and it’s kind of comical, because he’s a tall guy, but whoever it is makes him look like Pidge with Shiro or Hunk. “Kolivan!” Lance greets a little too brightly. Kolivan lets out a little growl as he sets Lance back down. 

“Where do you think you’re going with that attitude and disregard for your environment?” Kolivan asks in Common Galran, looking down at Lance with disdain. Lance’s mouth drops into a flat, tense line at the question. Of course that’s where Kolivan’s concerns are. 

“My bedroom?” Lance asks back in the same language, feigning ignorance. It never works, of course. Kolivan knows full well Lance knows exactly what the question is actually asking. 

“I’m so very glad you’re still such a smartass,” Kolivan says, voice dripping with sarcasm. Lance shrugs. 

“Can’t help it, Boss. Comes with the package,” Lance says, smiling back up at the man. 

“Well, you know what catching you when you’re trying to sneak around means,” Kolivan says, and if Lance didn’t know any better, that was excitement in his eyes! And oh, did Lance most definitely know what that meant. The hallway goes dead silent as they size each other up. _What is this, an anime?_ Lance thinks. 

Lance jumps back in tune with Kolivan’s swipe. In Kolivan’s hand is a dagger that Lance knows the other hadn’t had in his hand a second ago, but that’s okay because Lance also has his dagger out now. The rules for encounters like these were always just disarming blows. If you actually hurt the other person, you were detained. These encounters were all about finesse and control of your weapon and yourself. 

Lance lunges forward, bringing his dagger up in an arc, directly under Kolivan’s knife. He’d hoped to end it fast, but Kolivan was their commander for a reason. Kolivan jumps over him, landing where Lance was a second ago. Lance sighs, shifting his hold on the knife again. 

“Can we please get this over with? I’d like to sleep,” Lance tells him, stumbling over one of the words. Common Galran was hard, believe it or not, despite what its name entailed. 

“Not a chance. You need to be ready for your mission tomorrow. It’s imperative to the war effort, and we can’t have you slipping up on something like that,” Kolivan says, a teasing tone to his voice. Lance sighed, knowing exactly why Kolivan was teasing him. 

“That was one time! One time! And it was my second mission!” Lance squawked, rolling under the arc of Kolivan’s strike. 

“The lesson is to not get cocky that your intel is 100% correct, boy,” Kolivan growled, swiping back at him again, giving him barely enough time to react. Lance grimaced. There was no way Kolivan _wasn’t_ enjoying this at this point. 

“Lesson received,” Lance replied, knowing what he was about to pull was risky, but willing to try it all the same. At least the Castle had cryopods. He was going to need one if things went badly. And, before Kolivan could reply or analyze his stance for any clues, Lance pushed off and hoped to God he landed okay. Before Kolivan could move the knife away, Lance front flipped onto it, his weight effectively making his commander drop it. Lance had won, and landed okay. Rarely did things like that work out okay for Lance, but this seemed to be an exception. 

_Holy shit,_ Red whispered before fading back into a hum. Blue rumbled her pride. Kolivan grimaced at him, looking equal parts grumpy and proud as he shook his hand out, no doubt shaking off the impact. 

“Rarely does a move like that work, Lance,” Kolivan said, using his name in the Galran dialects. Lance thought there to be hardly any harm in it. His name sounded so very different in Galran. 

“I know, I just really _really_ wanted to get to bed,” Lance admitted, tucking the knife back where it came from. Where? He’ll never tell, and not because he wanted the element of surprise for the specific knife, but mostly because of where it kept it stashed. It wasn’t the most comfortable of arrangements, but ones out of necessity never were, he’d learned.  
“Well, who am I to stop you now, Lance?” Kolivan said, stashing his knife back into its sheath. Kolivan had actually come prepared, or maybe he’d never taken it off. Kolivan, Lance noted, was never one for getting too comfortable anywhere, especially places outside of the Blade HQ. Kolivan wasn’t someone that trusted so easily. Lance had to work for months to be this familiar with Kolivan. 

Lance narrowed his eyes at the man, before backing away, ever so slowly. Kolivan watched, eyes twinkling with amusement, though his poker face was on. Lance made the I’m-Watching-You gesture, before turning and practically sprinting back to his room. 

Once he was safely in, he took off his mask, but not before he locked his door.

><

“I got you, you little shit. You better be grateful I love you,” someone muttered once Lance was safely in bed. “Causing me all this trouble… but it’s good to have you back, Lance.”

><

Lance was up before anybody else in the Castle, save Kolivan, who was already lounging in the dining room and having a sip of the most recent batch of Hunk’s space coffee. Lance had to say, it was starting to taste much more like actual coffee. Hunk’s first batches before Lance had left had been a disaster with almost everyone except Pidge, and Lance was proud of the improvement his friend had made. 

Lance was already completely dressed, save for his weapons, and Kolivan knew it. 

“Why aren’t you already dressed? We have to leave soon,” Kolivan said before taking another sip out of his cup. 

“My weapons are all in my regular ship. I haven’t moved them yet since I have a feeling we’ll be on the move again, sometime soon,” Lance explained as he moved to the coffee Hunk must have left brewing when he’d gotten up for his midnight-ish snack. 

“You should always have your weapons near. Near enough to grab them at a moment’s notice,” Kolivan stated, tipping the cup back and downing it in one go this time. Now Lance was sure of it. Kolivan was grumpy, and Lance wasn’t sure on whether it was the late night or early morning that had made him so irritable. 

“Yeah, yeah,” Lance replied, sitting down next to the man. Nobody who actually lived on the Castleship would be awake for another few hours, but this was prime planning time for the Blade, and so, here Lance sat, ready to begin his own debrief for the mission. Kolivan had chosen his words extremely carefully around the Castleship’s regular inhabitants. Therefore, they hadn’t gotten nearly the whole story. 

“Are you ready to begin your debrief, at the very least?” Kolivan snapped, already getting out the holo-device that held all the information he would need. 

“Of course,” Lance purred, delighting in the irritable glance Kolivan snapped his way before focusing on the information that popped up. 

“Well, you already know you’ll be escorting an envoy of scientists to Daibazaal, correct?” Kolivan asked, relaxing just a tad when Lance nodded. He wasn’t _that_ much of an idiot, thank you very much. 

“What I don’t know is how many, and if there’s anything else you want me to do while I guard them,” Lance explained, taking a sip from his cup as Kolivan nodded. 

“Of course there is,” Kolivan said, “there’s a reason you’re the most asked for mercenary we’ve ever had the pleasure of sponsoring. You’re excellent at weeding out spies and agents of the Empire.”

“The pleasure?” Lance asked, winking when Kolivan slid his gaze over to him in disappointment. 

“I’m sorry, I must have misspoke, Rayul, the unfortunate curse,” Kolivan shot back, eyes never leaving the holo-device as a group of six different aliens popped up on screen. “These are the scientists you’ll be escorting. There are two Blade scientists, two Alliance scientists, and two Rebel scientists,” Kolivan tapped on one of the Alliance scientists, who looked like an Olkari, “This specific scientist has been chosen in an effort to tell if he’s actually an agent of the Empire, but he’s also extremely good at his job, so the Alliance is hoping to use him then lose him, if he is an agent of the Empire.”

Lance nodded, looking carefully at the Olkari before him. He looked nervous, almost, behind whatever mask he was trying, and failing, to emulate. “He could be. He’s definitely nervous about something, and I don’t think it’s getting his picture taken,” Lance commented, taking another gulp from his cup. “Why do they think he might be an agent?”

“He was recently discovered to have a hidden, personal device fit for long-range communications. However, the Alliance’s best technological Masters can’t decrypt it, and while he says it’s for talking with his family but that was checked in on and nobody on Olkarion knows him. However, there was a recent Galran ‘escapee’ who looks devastatingly like him,” Kolivan explained, gazing at the Olkari with Lance. Lance nodded, taking all this information in and cataloging it for when he would inevitable meet this Olkari. 

“Have you tried giving the device to Pidge?” Lance asked, only because he was confident Pidge would be able to. 

“The Alliance does not want quite that much information on Ouroboros going to Voltron. Voltron must focus on the end of the Galra Empire, and this is the task that we in the shadows have set for ourselves, the destruction of Ouroboros,” Kolivan stated, getting up and going around to get another cup of coffee for himself. 

“I see,” Lance says, swiping through the other scientists, familiarizing himself with all of their faces and available information. It can’t hurt to know everything he can about his charges, including their qualifications. 

“Anything else you think you might want to watch out for?” Kolivan asks as he sits down next to Lance again. Lance shakes his head, even as he starts to chew his bottom lip with uncertainty under his mask. The second Rebel scientist has a shady past but a spotless record while they’ve been with the Rebellion, and they’re wearing a mask that hides their face, so he doesn’t know what species they are. He’ll be watching them, but for now he has no reason to actively investigate any of the other scientists. “Don’t give me that, Rayul. There’s obviously something else that’s got you concerned.”

“The second Rebel scientist; did you look into their records?” Lance asked, mulling it over in his head. As long as they give him no reason to be concerned when he meets them, he thinks it will be okay to let them be. They’re in the yellow of his green to red cautionary zones though. (Basically they’re on thin ice, walking on eggshells, that sort of thing.)

“Yes. Nothing short of exemplary work, despite their past associations. The Rebellion High Leaders trust them, and that’s the only thing that seems to matter these days; trust,” Kolivan says, downing half of his new cup in one go. Lance finished off the last of his as he continues on swiping through them until he feels like he could have known them half his life. 

“Do you blame anyone, Kolivan? Because if you do you’re just being a hypocrite,” Lance murmured, turning the holo device and attaching it to his hip holster. Kolivan looks drolly over at him, the look conveying everything Kolivan would have said without words. “Thought so. You’re probably just complaining because it’s hard to get enough trust to secure anything nowadays.”

“Nowadays? Boy, you’ve only been in this world for three years. Don’t go acting like you’ve been here to see it happen. Besides, this shifts been 10,000 years coming,” Kolivan responds, getting up to put his cup in the dirty bin for either Coran or Hunk to clean later, whenever they get up. Lance follows, doing the same. “Now, go and get your weapons together. We meet at my ship in a varga.” Lance nodded, giving a quick salute before racing off towards the cargo bay, where he knew his-their ship would be. He had to remember that it was technically Rolo and Nyma’s ship too. 

However, he hadn’t been prepared for the hatch to be open, and sounds as though someone was working coming from within it. Lance frowned, and proceeded cautiously, just in case.  
“That you, Lance?” Nyma’s voice drifted out from the opening, and Lance relaxed, stepping into the ship and exiting the shadows. He found Nyma and Rolo working in the weapons room, milling about as they cleaned and tested everything for him. He hadn’t asked them to, but they were here now, and it wasn’t like he was going to stop them from finishing what they were doing. 

“Yeah,” he said as he came into the room unnoticed by them. Nyma jumped a little and Rolo laughed at her. She swatted him on his arm with the cleaning rag she was using to polish one of Lance’s daggers. Lance smiled, watching them work just as he used to do with Hunk and Pidge. His breath caught, and he swallowed back the inevitable grief that came with such a thought. _That was then and this is now,_ Lance reminded himself.

“Good morning,” Rolo greeted him, rubbing the spot where the rag had hit. Rolo smirked before going back to whatever he’d been doing. He had what looked to be Lance’s pistols arranged before him, and he looked to be inspecting them for damage or any sign that they could malfunction. 

“You guys didn’t have to. I’m sure everything would’ve been fine,” Lance said, smiling under his mask. It hadn’t been the best of starts to their partnership, but at least they were friendly enough to almost be friends. Not quite. Lance didn’t think that they’d ever quite get past what he’d done for them, which, from their point of view, placed them in a priceless debt that they wouldn’t soon forget. Nyma shook her head at his statement before handing him one of his freshly polished daggers. 

“We wanted to. We wouldn’t have missed sleep if we didn’t want to do this for you, La-Rayul,” Nyma told him as he sheathed the offered dagger and she began working on the next one. Lance could hear someone stumbling up the stairs, but if Blue’s content purr in the back of his mind was anything to go by, it was probably Matt. 

“I didn’t know you were so popular, Rayul,” Matt called, “Where are you guys?” Lance elected to ignore the Blue Paladin’s question in favor of thanking his team;

“Thanks, guys, I really appreciate it,” Lance tells them. Rolo dips his head in acknowledgement and Nyma pauses her work to smile up at him as Matt pokes his head into the room. 

“It was Curtain B!” Matt exclaims, and Lance snorts at his ridiculous expression. It’s almost exactly the expression worn by his nephew when he’d unwrapped the last present all of his siblings and him and chipped in for. His nephew would be in middle school now, he thinks. 

“This isn’t a game show, Matt,” Lance told him. Matt laughed; settling down at what he thought was a chair, making Lance laugh even harder. 

“What? Why am I being laughed at? And why is Nyma looking at me like her next meal?” Matt fake-whispered, causing Lance to start laughing so hard he was almost sobbing with it. Lance blamed it on his lack of sleep. 

“That’s-,” more laughter, “not a chair, Matt,” Lance managed to finish in between bouts of laughter. He watched Matt look down, only to be meant with Beezer’s now-open eye. Matt jumped up and back, surprised at the robot’s presence. Beezer beeped, eye blinking as it started moving to settle next to Rolo. Rolo patted its head once it was close enough. 

“S’alright. I’m just amused as to why the Green Paladin wouldn’t leave em’ alone when she first met em’,” Rolo said, patting its dome one more time before getting back to work. Matt chuckled at that; this wasn’t the first time he’d heard of Pidge’s strange case of instant interest in any and all robots they’d come across in their travels as a part of Voltron. 

“Sorry, uh, what’s its name?” Matt asked, peering at the little robot. Nyma looked over at him and considered deigning to answer. Lance answered for her. 

“Its name’s Beezer and it’s a little pest,” Lance told him from his spot leaning against the one clean counter spot. 

“It is not a pest!” Nyma interceded before Matt could reply. “It’s just curious,” She said, using the exact same tone one would when they knew a child had done wrong, but couldn’t bring themselves to actually chastise them. 

“It almost got us killed because of that, ‘curiosity’,” Lance reminded her, to which she shrugged. 

“Well we didn’t die, did we?” Nyma asked, turning only to hand him his other blade with the little glare of someone who knows they’re not winning an argument but keeps on arguing anyways. 

“No, but I prefer to keep my near-death experiences to a minimum,” Lance told her, returning her glare half-heartedly. He would never tell her, but the little robot had grown on him since then. It seemed to have learned its lesson about cargo hatches, at the very least. 

“How many have you had, by the way?” Matt asked, looking suddenly all too interested in their team’s banter. 

“Well, I know for a fact he’s had at least eight while he’s been with us,” Rolo spoke up as he stood up. Lance watched him walk over to hand him his guns. It was Lance’s turn to glare. 

“That one time was _not_ a near death experience. I had it under control,” Lance tried, but this time it was Nyma who betrayed him.  
“Yeah, sure,” Nyma laughed, leaning against the counter top where she had been working, “and Beezer isn’t a robot.” 

“Yeah, boss, are you certain you would’ve gotten out of there if we hadn’t come in with the ship?” Rolo asked, patting Beezer’s dome as the robot followed him out the work lab door.

“You… may have a point,” Lance conceded, crossing his arms in contempt. If there was one thing he hadn’t gotten better at while he was gone, it was admitting his mistakes. Like being annoying to Keith 24/7. He should’ve apologized for that the minute the irritated words had first tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop them. Nyma and Rolo chuckled, but Matt just looked plain worried. “Don’t worry Matt; it was only the one time. I learned my lesson.” Matt didn’t seem to be convinced, but didn’t say anything. Rolo chose that moment to walk back in, Beezer tailing him. In his arms was Lance’s sniper.

Rolo set to work on the sniper. Lance leaned back, taking a moment to relax and center himself. The room went quiet as he worked, the only sounds the clicking of metal against metal as Rolo worked. Matt was looking at him with a weird expression when he opened his eyes again, but looked away, towards Rolo, when Lance tilted his head in a question. 

It was quiet for a few more minutes before Matt sighed and looked back to Lance. He jerked his head to the side. He wanted Lance to go outside with him. Lance followed him silently. Neither Rolo nor Nyma noticed, too focused on the sniper in front of them. 

“Look, Lance, since meeting you, I wanted to apologize for the way I talked in that video Blue sent you,” Matt started, and Lance tensed. So he knew about that, that Blue was sending him videos, but why didn’t he ever tell the team? That didn’t exactly sit well with Lance. 

“You knew?” Lance asked. Matt shook his head. 

“Not until Blue told me, that time I spoke directly to you,” Matt told him. “She stressed how important it was that you weren’t discovered, but she wanted me to talk to you. She was also irritated with me after, saying I was too mean. I knew that, but I guess I was angry at you at the time because it was the day after Pidge told me about you. About how you leaving hurt her.” Lance winced at that. 

“I should apologize as well the-,” Matt cut him off, “Don’t apologize to me. I’m the one who should be apologizing to you. Save your apology for Pidge. And you better make ti good, or I’m coming for you. I know where you _live_ ,” Matt threatened, smiling a bit at the end. Lance smiled back. Or, at least, as much of a smile as he could manage. 

“I have to go now, and get some more sleep, or Allura will kill me-,” It was Lance’s turn to cut him off. He noticed how Matt’s voice softened ever so slightly on Allura’s name. It was the same way Shiro’s did. Matt had a crush. “About that,” Lance inquired, “would you happen to have a crush on Allura?” Matt turned bright red, sputtering as he tried to deny it. However, unknowingly, his reaction had already confirmed it. “Don’t,” Lance started, “don’t even try to hide it. You gotta react better, man. It was all over you as soon as I asked.” 

“Dang it,” Matt murmured, red slowly leaving his face as he calmed down. “How did you know?” 

“The way you look at her and say her name is the way Shiro says it,” Lance told him. Matt bushed harder, if that was possible, but it wasn’t at the implication. It was as soon as he’d said Shiro’s name. “Wait,” Lance started, but Matt cut him off, “No. Please don’t say it. Yes, if you’re wondering. It’s both of them.” Lance sighed, reaching out to hold Matt’s shoulder. 

“Its okay, Matt; I honestly think you have a chance after watching them interact. They look at you when you’re not looking, like you’re the smartest person in the world when you’re ranting. It’s cute. Also, Shiro’s voice does the same thing to your name that it does with Allura’s. Give them time, and I’m sure you’ll be awarded for it,” Lance told him. Matt, as Lance was talking, slowly lit up, until he was smiling from ear to ear and it was almost like he was actually lit up. 

“Really?” Matt asked, voice tiny compared to how happy he looked. Lance nodded. 

“I’m sure of it,” Lance told him, smiling under his mask. Matt nodded, smiling to himself this time, as he got that look Shiro did when he was thinking of one of them. It was cute, and Lance’s heart clenched. Matt had what he didn’t. The freedom to pursue the one (or ones, in this case) you love. Lance thought of Keith, and immediately felt horrible. There were a lot of things he regretted with Keith, and he’d be damned if he didn’t fix them one day. 

Matt started running off before Lance could say anything else, only stopping at the door of the cargo hold to wave back at him, before his footsteps retreated down the hall. Lance smiled. He was running. 

>

Not half a quintant later, Lance found himself in front of Kolivan’s ship, armed to the teeth and ready to meet the envoy of scientists he would be accompanying and monitoring. Kolivan didn’t so much as blink when Lance slid into the copilot seat without a sound, but continued turning on the various things required to pilot his ship. Lance turned, setting the sniper down in the compartment beside of him. He wanted to be able to relax on the ride over to Blade HQ, and he was not going to be able to do that with a sniper on his back. 

“Anything else you wanted to know that you didn’t think to ask earlier?” Kolivan asked, not even bothering to spare a glance in Lance’s direction. Lance huffed. 

“Of course: Anything else I should know about my mask twinsy?” Lance replied, and Kolivan’s face contorted in exasperation. 

“I asked you not to use that word. I have no idea what it means because the translators can’t translate it properly,” Kolivan sighed as the ship started up. “And yes, there is. The Alliance says to not, under any circumstances, ask for this scientist to reveal their face. They made that bit extremely clear at the briefing meeting I had to attend before coming here.”

“Why?” Lance asked, face scrunching up in utter confusion behind his own mask. Then he realized he already knew the answer, and that their situation must be much like his own. There wasn’t only one reason Lance kept his face hidden most of the time, and it wasn’t just so the team didn’t know he was. Lotor had his face all over the galaxy under a false name. Bounty hunters would be after him if he didn’t. This person must have some of the same circumstances. “Wait, don’t answer that. I got it.” Kolivan shifted like he was uncomfortable as the Castle’s cargo bay opened. 

A communications link popped up on his dash as the door opened into space, and he looked to consider rejected it for a moment before he reluctantly accepted. Pidge appeared on the screen. She looked like she hadn’t slept at all. She was half-turned away from the screen, fiddling with what looked to be Rover 2.0. “You’re good to go, guys.”

She paused, lip curling in anticipation as she worked on something that required more focus, before continuing. “Try to come back in one piece, Rayul,” she commented, “I don’t think this team can function as a unit without you now.” 

“Thanks, Green Paladin,” Pidge winced, and cut him off before he could keep going, “Nope, no, I’m having none of that. Call me Pidge, Rayul.”

“Alright, Pidge,” Lance answered, his voice softening behind the mask. Thanks to the gruffness of Rayul’s voice, he was saved from having Pidge notice anything. Pidge smiled, nodded, and reached over. The communications cut off, and Kolivan immediately hit the gas. 

They were almost to the Blade before Lance thought he probably should have told the girl to sleep, or at least gotten Matt to get her to bed. Opening his comms device, he opened up a text comm to Matt. Matt responded almost immediately with a **:/** and an affirmative. As the Blade HQ came into view, Matt sent a small image of Pidge, tied down to her bed. Shiro was in the background, and the Princess’s arm was visible. Lance laughed to himself at that. It was just like her to not want to sleep when she was working on something. Shiro must’ve carried her to bed. Then, he got an idea. 

Grinning, Lance typed out “quality family time” with a winky face and sent it. Matt replied with ** >:( **. Kolivan cleared his throat, and Lance set his comms to Mission Mode. Now, only the Castle’s emergency line, Kolivan, and the Blade HQ could reach him. Lance sighed, forcing the smile off his face. Even though he knew nobody would be able to see it, he felt more professional schooling his face into an expression of neutrality. When he did this, he liked to emulate Kolivan and the Leaders of the Alliance. Kolivan punched him in the arm when Lance told him that’s how he managed to do it so quickly. 

By the time they landed inside the Blade’s landing bay, Lance was long past thoughts of teasing Matt about his crushes. “The envoy should already be here, waiting for you to arrive; however, they won’t be leaving right away, giving you time to start your assessments of their character,” Kolivan states as the ship turns off and the hatch opens, allowing them both to spill out. Lance has already attached his sniper, and its barrel shows just over his shoulder, glinting menacingly in the light of the landing bay. At the far end of the landing bay sits a scientific vessel, large enough to hold and support at least a dozen people for months on end. Lance is glad that his mission should only last a few days if nothing goes wrong, and a week at the maximum. “Are you ready to proceed, Officer Rayul?” Kolivan asked, and Lance nodded, squaring up.

The six individuals milling around the vessel hadn’t noticed them yet, by some miracle. Lance takes the time allotted to him by their unobservant nature to observe them working. He immediately recognizes the Olkari they want him watching, as well as the masked individual. Their mask is extremely similar to his, but it’s less detailed, and obviously more of an everyday wear kind of mask compared to his highly detailed combat mask. 

The others meander around, checking this and that, okaying things for loading, and instructing Blade helpers on the locations everything needs to be taken to. Lance, however, sees nothing wrong with them. They fit comfortably into their surroundings, looking as though they are completely comfortable for where they are. The other two, however, do not. The Olkari seems to be sweating profusely, but that could be because he’s nervous. The masked individual seems uncomfortable, despite doing no heavy lifting and only supervising the others as they lean against the ship near the open hatch. 

Lance notices their stance is exactly how Allura stood when she first learned of Keith’s heritage. Maybe this individual is from a species so deeply inflicted by the Galra that they have an intrinsic fear towards them. And maybe, they could be one of the last of a race, lucky to have survived the Galra’s mass-slaughter of their people once they tried to resist. Or maybe not so lucky, in that case. Lance knew how it felt, not from first-hand experience, but he could see the fleeting, and sometimes constant pain and grief in both Allura and Coran’s eyes everyday while he was with Voltron. 

Blue’s presence flared in the back of his mind at the thought. Lance paused in his thoughts, surprised to feel Blue so far away from the Castle. She rumbled in the back of his mind, directing his attention to the masked individual. For some reason, she told him in her experience of a way to communicate, she felt a familiar quintessence in her, she told him, very specifically using “her”. And it was not, she was quite sure, because they were a prospective paladin. Lance shifted his weight as he thought about it. If books and movies were anything to go by, or even what he knew about the Lions, quintessence, and Alteans from Coran and Allura, he would guess the masked individual was an Altean. 

But that was just a very uneducated guess. He’d never actually know, because they weren’t allowed to remove their mask under any circumstances. Not even being able to take it off in private must suck. Speaking of which, he should probably start doing that. No telling if the mask can get into his room. He isn’t willing to find out by waking up to a punch in the gut, in this order, from Allura, Pidge, Keith, and then a light tap followed by a bone crushing hug that makes up for it from Hunk. Shiro will probably just give him the Disappointed Shiro Look™ and offer him an awkward pat on the back or shoulder once everyone has stopped crying. Yeah, Lance isn’t exactly looking forward to the process of everyone knowing, but he is looking forward to being back with his team and family as himself. 

He decides now is the perfect time to introduce himself, since Kolivan left a few minutes ago during his rant to himself about his space family and they _still_ haven’t noticed him. He was standing. In the middle of the room. With a giant ass sniper attached to his back that glinting like the Hope Diamond in the lights of the Smithsonian. With that heavy disappointment in mind that his wards might actually be okayish at defending themselves, he sidles up right beside the masked individual, in full view of the others if they were looking. Which they weren’t. And the Mask (that’s what he was calling them now, until he got a name, the Mask) _still_ hadn’t noticed him. It was incredible how oblivious they all were. 

“Ahem,” Lance finally spoke up after watching this carry on for a few more moments with increasing exasperation. The Mask jumped, up and away from him, a full foot. The others dropped whatever they were carrying, while the helpers just shook their head at him. In pity or exasperation, or both, he couldn’t tell, but it didn’t matter. He had taken on this assignment because it had been asked of him, so he was damn well going to have some fun with it. “Who are you?” The Mask demanded in a near hiss. Their voice was distinctly female. So Blue had been right. 

“I am Officer Rayul, your assigned bodyguard for this mission,” the Olkari that he was supposed to be keeping an eye on jumped at the name, going even paler than he had when Lance had finally spoken up. So this Olkari knew who he was. Fantastic! The Olkari was making his job much easier with those reactions. And his alarm had just gone from orange to red. Not exactly instant report territory, but not exactly the best thing for a treason-free individual; to react that way. 

“I am Dioryne, and that’s Piri,” the Mask, now known as Dioryne introduced, “I’d prefer if you didn’t sneak up on us like that again,” she said. Piri, her associate, waved shyly from her position by the heavier looking creates. Piri looked to be an Arusian, which was interesting.  
“Noted, uh… mind if I call you all by your names?” Lance asked, meeting each and every one of their eyes. Everyone nodded, and the Rebel scientists were next in introductions. The Olkari started, “M-m-my name is Neryu.”

“Mine is Revrik,” his associate stated, meeting Lance’s gaze firmly. He looked to be Olkari. Lance slid his eyes over to the Blade scientists. One of whom he’d already had the distinct pleasure of meeting. 

“Mavrina, it’s always nice to see you,” Lance stated, making the Galra woman sigh. The other shifted, looking uncomfortable under the new scrutiny. 

“What did I tell you? Call me Mav or nothing at all,” Mav chastised, and then introduced the smaller Galra next to her, “This is my apprentice, Keyleva, but please, call her Keely.” 

“Of course. Keely, I look forward to protecting you. All of you, for that matter,” Lance said, before bending down to pick up Revrik’s dropped box. Revrik regarded him for a moment with the curiosity one would use to look at a stranger. Revrik was evaluating him, he realized as the man led him onto the ship. He was fine with that, after all, the crew would have to have some level of trust if they were to allow him to do his job. 

They work in relative silence, except for when Lance asks one of the crew a question, or when Mav stops to nag at his ability to move boxes. She’s a true mother, that one. The first time they’d met, she didn’t know he’d been the one she was supposed to measure for a suit and mask. She instead scooped him up into a hug and asked what a cub was doing wandering after the officer that had been escorting him. The escorting officer, Grolyn, if he remembered correctly, had burst out laughing and told her to put down the officer. Mav had looked so confused then, looking wildly between a disgruntled Lance and the amused officer. 

Mav was the one they always sent him to for different things. She had a lot of jobs within the Blade, but her most important one was Head of the Sciences. Probably why she had a lot of jobs, since every science was always having her check everything they did. She was a busy one. 

“Come on, Rayul, get your head in the game and place the boxes like your mother taught you how to be neat,” Lance winced at her use of the phrase he’d taught her, which he’d regretted immensely. She had a tendency to use Earth phrases in what she knew was the wrong way, because she knew it irritated. She smiles whenever he grits his teeth when she does that. She didn’t mean any harm, that was obvious, but that didn’t stop it from being annoying. 

“Are you sure the Sciences won’t fall apart without your eternal guidance?” Lance snaps when she does it again, and she smirks. 

“Honestly, they probably will, but I’m hoping and praying they at least don’t blow something up. I left my most capable apprentice in charge, so I’m sure nothing too bad will happen,” Mav answers, scooting around him (which is weird because she probably could’ve picked him up and set him down behind her, scratch that, she can and she has) to organize the boxes into neat rows. 

“They blew something up the last time? When was this?” Lance balks, trying hard to imagine a time when Mav wasn’t around somewhere doing this or that. 

“This is the first time they’ve let me out for more than a day in years, little one. The last time I left was last year for an Alliance science convention. That’s when they managed to blow something up,” Mav answered, her face uncharacteristically grim for her. Lance paused. 

“Did anyone die?!” She shook her head as she checked the last set of boxes off the list. “No, but the paperwork I had to do when I got back was atrocious. It took me a week and set production back a month! Not to mention the restrictions! I’d just gotten rid of them when I met you, Rayul.” 

That actually made sense. The other cadets that trained alongside him shuddered every time he mentioned Mav or one of the people from the Sciences. 

“That explains a lot,” Lance commented, following her out to where the others were waiting. 

“Does it?” Mav asked with a smile as they walked out of the ship together to find everyone else standing in a loose semi-circle around the open hatch of the ship. Keely immediately started towards them, side-eyeing Neryu the way his sisters had side-eyed people they thought were pervs. Dioryne was watching him too, by the direction her head was aimed. In fact, everyone who hadn’t started looking at Keely and Mav were looking at Neryu with an almost confused expression on their faces. Revrik was downright glaring at him. 

“What happened?” Mav asked in Keely’s ear as the younger reached them. Keely shook her head, her eyes big and almost scared. Lance walked over to Dioryne, who seemed to be watching Keely now. Her shoulders had been tense, but once Keely was close to Mav, they relaxed. She had been worried for the girl, and it showed clearly. 

“What happened out here while we were gone?” Lance asked her. Dioryne shook her head. 

“Neryu went over and talked to her, real hushed and quiet, but when Keely tried to ask him to leave, all of us could hear that, at least, he kept trying to talk to her. Revrik had to pretend to ask him to check over his comms device because ‘he thought it was malfunctioning’,” Dioryne explained, and he shivered. It sounded too similar to something back on Earth, but he knew what Neryu was probably asking her with what he had on the guy. He’d been asking her things, trying to gauge whether he could turn her to the side of the Empire. 

Lance nodded and thanked her. Dioryne nodded. “Hey, can I ask you one more question?”

“What would it be?” She asked, in lieu of an answer. Lance shrugged, the motion bringing more attention to his sniper as it glinted brighter. Neryu was looking at it with something not quite fear, but not quite indifference. 

“Is there anything else I can call you? Dioryne is kind of a mouthful,” Lance explained, and Dioryne shrugged. 

“You can call me Dio, if that’s all you had to ask,” Dio says, sounding just a little bit irritated, but what bothers Lance about it is that he can’t tell if she’s irritated with him, or it’s just residual irritation from the whole thing with Neryu. 

“It was,” Lance confirmed and she turned, walking over to Piri, who was standing where Keely had been. So that was that conversation ended, but at least he could call her Dio now. That was a win, right?

The landing bay opens as he receives a ping to his inbox. A pod from the Castle enters, confusing Lance. His envoy watches the pod with mild detached curiosity as they walked together into the ship. However, they still had a few minutes before lift off, so Lance decided to wait until he could see who was coming in from the Castle. Coran exited first, followed by a Keith, who had his arm over his face, blocking the sudden light from the ship he was leaning against as it turned on. Coran locked eyes with him as he watched them cross the landing bay floor. Keith squinted at Coran and then followed his gaze to Lance. 

Lance nodded at him, and Keith returned the acknowledgement with an awkward wave. Lance smiled under his mask. Coran nodded at him as well, and Lance returned the nod. He watched them until they disappeared through the door to the training rooms, where Lance knew Kolivan had gone. It was training initiate day for the new class. _That was what Red meant,_ Lance thought, remembering Red’s request for Keith’s safety if he decided to join the Blade. And it looked like he had. 

Mav poked her head out of the open hatch as Lance turned to get into the ship. She smiled at him and ushered him in, pressing the button to close the hatch once he was in. “Good, I was beginning to think I’d have to drag you in, cub,” Mav told him affectionately. Keely was by the door, hand resting on the crook of her opposite arm as she waited for them. He felt the ship lift up as they took off, and he was guided around the ship with the rest of them. He noted with no small amount of satisfaction that Neryu’s room was right next to his own. Convenient. 

>

The trip took less than a day, a day in which he spent closely watching Neryu’s scant interactions with Revrik, his own associate, and the others (of which, there were hardly any: none of the others seemed to like him at all). 

Keely never left Mav’s side for longer than she had to, and when she did, she always insisted with a little tug to his weapon that Lance accompany her. He had grown a fondness for the girl, and glared at Neryu whenever he caught the creep looking at her. Neryu might not be confirmed an agent for the Galra, but even if that turned out to be true, didn’t excuse him from being a creep. 

“Rayul?” Keely asked once Mav had left the first time to fix lunch for the rest of them. Lance had bent down to her level and asked her what was up. She’d proceeded to shyly ask if he would sit with her until Mav came back. Lance had smile under his mask, which she couldn’t see, but that didn’t stop her from giving him a tentative smile in return once he’d assured her he would sit with her as long as she needed. 

When they landed, and Mav had to help roll everything out, Keely had stood silently next to him, watching as everyone helped (even Neryu, but he still managed to look uncomfortable, somehow). He stood just outside the ship with Keely who was watching them work, while Lance monitored the skies and the ship’s portable radar for any Galra activity. So far there was none, but in the time he’d been with the Blade, he’d learned some were far trickier than others, and what made his job extra fun was that this was the Galra homeworld, destroyed and seemingly forgotten, but one could never tell nowadays. The planet gave him bad vibes; he’d wanted to go back home and curl up with his family the second he’d stepped foot on it. 

He wasn’t sure why Mav had let Keely come, with all her motherly affection and talk of not letting cubs do dangerous things. Mav told him that evening as they started setting everything up that it hadn’t been her decision. Kolivan had given the okay without consulting her first, but, by the time she’d found out about it, it had been too late to find someone else to go. Mav added as he helped her set up their instruments around the ship later. 

Dio was watching Keely for now, her part done, so she’d volunteered to. Keely hadn’t been too amiable to that at first, but Mav, with Lance’s help, convinced her that Dio was okay. Lance may not have full trust in her, but he trusted her to protect Keely from Neryu, at the very least. In fact, he’d found he’d trust anyone on the ship other than Neryu himself with her protection, with the glares and head shakes they aimed his way when he wasn’t looking. Some even did it when they _knew_ he was looking. 

The atmosphere as Mav, Revrik, and Lance set up the equipment needed to start the data collection was tense to say the least; everyone was waiting with baited breath to spot the seemingly inevitable Galra ship. 

“That should just about do it,” Mav told them, monitoring the device on her wrist guard. “The readings are coming in, just as we expected. Now we just have to wait. The fun part!” 

“I don’t understand what about this is fun,” Revrik sighed, slinking back to the ship. Mav followed, laughing and poking fun at him. But Lance wasn’t paying attention that. Lance was watching the approaching figure of a ship on the horizon. 

And it wasn’t Blade.

Lance sprinted grabbing the arms of the other two before they could realize he was even running and all but throwing them inside, spinning on his heel at the same time to slam the button, shutting the door behind them. 

Mav looked alarmed, and Revrik was holding his gaze with knowing. They both knew what had happened, and they were both prepared to receive his orders. Lance chose to hold Mav’s gaze though his mask. She nodded, hurrying out of the room to go find Keely. 

“Can you keep an eye on Neryu for me, Revrik?” Lance asked, and the other nodded. 

“I knew there was a reason they sent you in, Blue Wraith,” Revrik said, mouth set in a grim line. 

“You knew who I was?” Lance asked, the gruffness of Rayul’s voice making the question come out gruffer than he’d meant it. 

“Of course. Your gear is blue and gray, different from all the others. I also know you have a track record for sniffing up sleeper agents. You think Neryu is one of them?” Revrik asked, pausing by the door. 

“They think he’s worse,” Lance answered honestly. If he could get Revrik to stay with Neryu that would ensure the other wouldn’t be able to do anything in private. “They think he’s a recruiter.” Revrik’s eyes hardened at his answer. 

“Keely,” was all he said before he rushed out to find the other. Lance nodded to himself, now that no one was in the room. He had been trying to recruit Keely. He wasn’t a very good recruiter if he went for the Galra young at the Blade. They were fiercely protected and knew what to look for in the recruiters. In sleeper agents too. Keely had known, and she was the key to getting the evidence Lance needed for the Alliance. 

Lance took this time to check the radars. At least they registered this ship, whoever was in it. Lance knew a handful of the higher ranking Galra’s names, including Zarkon and Haggar, and he could count on his one hand what he knew about all of them. They were surprisingly hard to get information on, but that didn’t stop him from ending several of their lives over the courses of his missions. It had just made their little surprise weapons harder to get rid of.  
Lance walked with a purpose now, activating the ship’s emergency protocols from his wrist device. Piri peered out at him from her and Dio’s shared room, and, once he’d passed, fell into step next to him. 

They entered the common room together, where Revrik had taken to sitting next to Neryu, side-eyeing him the whole time. Dio was sitting in front of Neryu’s view of Keely, who was curled into her side. Mav was sitting on the backboard of the couch directly behind them, leaning over Keely protectively. Neryu was looking anywhere but at anyone else. Not a good sign for someone suspected, almost assuredly, an Empire recruiter, and then an Empire ship shows up out of nowhere for seemingly no reason. Yeah, Neryu was probably having a very bad day. 

“Why are the alarms going off?” Piri asked, walking around him and leaning onto the couch. Lance tore his eyes off Neryu. 

“A Galra ship has been spotted on the horizon,” Lance told them. Keely stiffened and Neryu shifted uncomfortably. Revrik and Mav looked determined. 

“How long ago was this?” Piri asked, pulling up a camera view of the outside of the ship from her wrist device. 

“About ten minutes ago,” Lance responded. Piri nodded, assessing something by the way her eyes flitted back and forth across the screen in front of her, scanning the image for something specific. 

“This isn’t a ship from the Central Empire Fleet,” Piri informed them, sending the image from her wrist device to the center projecting stand. It popped up in front of them all, a grainy and in-exact image of the ship on the Horizon. “This ship has been modified to all oblivion, and if I had to guess, that would be Prince Lotor’s ship, Shade, as it has been codenamed by the Alliance. It would seem the Prince has decided to enter the fray.”

“Prince? Zarkon has an heir?” Revrik asked, brows (were they eyebrows?) scrunching up in concerned confusion. 

“Yes, but he was exiled many years ago, and we had hopes that he wouldn’t get involved with this,” Piri explained as Lance let his eyes wander over the footage of the ship coming closer, closer, until it stopped, just North of their ship, and it didn’t move. “We were hoping Haggar would take over, but it seems she thinks she can indirectly control her son. However, from past experience, she should know that’s not likely to happen. He got exiled, because, as far as we can tell, he went against his father’s orders for the last time.”

Lance was surprised to hear that not only had Lotor been exiled, but it was because he’d disobeyed Zarkon, not only once, but several times. This war was sounding more like a bad space soap opera with each new thing he learned. He supposed, however, that he also had a part to play in making it that horrible. He hadn’t made the best decisions.  
“What’s he been doing since he’s been exiled?” Mav asked, leaning just the tiniest bit closer to Keely, in a protective way. Lance doubted it would actually do anything if a threat was in the room, but he supposed it was the meaning behind the action, since Keely relaxed, settling against the older Galra with the fall of her chest as she released the breath he noticed she’d been holding. 

“Nothing, as far as the Alliance can tell. He hasn’t even left the planet he’s holed up on, and he barely even leaves the base he’s been living in. The only changes we’ve noticed have been to the converted warship straight ahead, but even then they haven’t been too alarming. Surprising, maybe, since the changes are so benign. That ship doesn’t even have a single ion canon. All of its strength rests in its defense barrier. Which is partly why seeing it here is so concerning,” Piri explains, bringing up a picture of what looks to be a different planet’s tropical climate. He almost thought it was pictures of the Amazon, but Earth’s sky was blue. This planet’s sky was a lilac purple. And, upon closer inspection, the leaves of the trees were yellow. A Galra base peaked out from the right side of the image, the purple lines along its walls marking it as such. It looked right at home, complimenting the purple of the sky. 

“So what do you think his objective was for coming here?” Lance asks, eyes tracking the glitched footage of sentries walking about, guarding the front of the base. Piri shook her head. 

“We don’t know for certain. This _is_ the Galra homeworld, but they seemed to have abandoned it officially 5,000 years ago. There are, however, certain rumors that scare even the highest admins of the Alliance…,” Piri trailed off, looking uncertain as to whether she should continue what she’d been saying. 

“And what rumor is that?” Revrik asked, still staring Neryu down. Man, Neryu could _not_ catch a break. Lance smirked under his mask. He had no definitive evidence as of yet, but if the Olkarion was _this_ easily intimidated, he’d have that part of this job done in time. 

“That Lotor has a highly extensive collection of spies, infiltrating some of the most top secret projects in the Alliance, Rebellion, and the Blade. Nobody has yet to neither confirm nor definitively deny its existence. In the Alliance, those of us who talk about it call it the Chameleon Network,” Piri told them, eyes never leaving the screen as several images showed up on the screen. They were the same symbol, all in different mediums and vastly different locations. Lance was about to ask a question when Piri started speaking again. 

“These are all locations where either our informants have gone missing, or different outposts have been destroyed. We don’t know what it means, but many who believe in the Network believe that this is its symbol.” 

“Pssh!” Neryu suddenly said. Lance turned his head ever so slightly from the screen to watch the smaller alien. “C’mon guys! The Network doesn’t exist,” Revrik was already looking at Lance before the other even thought to turn his head to him. At his nod, and to Neryu’s astonishment, Revrik took both of Neryu’s hands and pinned them behind his back. 

“The Network, you say?” Lance asked, smiling devilishly under his mask. This was one of the things he enjoyed most about his jobs. He _loved_ taking apart everything and anything Lotor had built. Neryu knew _something_ about the Network, and since it apparently reported directly to Lotor, and it looked to be a bit of a problem for the Alliance, Lance figured he could add taking it apart piece by piece to his list of things to screw Lotor over with. He took several extremely punctuated steps closer to Neryu before the other alien replied.

“It doesn’t exist! Revrik! Why are holding me back?!” Neryu yelped, and Revrik only shook his head in response. 

“Only the guilty want to run,” Revrik answered in monotone, face a hard slate. Keely had her head behind Mav’s back, shielded from what was happening. Mav’s face was hard, almost impossible to read. Dio hadn’t moved an inch, and Piri was looking away. 

“Wh- what?” Neryu asked with his eyes training on Lance. Lance was watching him back, mouth pressed into a thin line. “Guilty? Guilty of what?” 

“Keely,” Lance called, not looking behind his back to see if she’d responded. The shuffle of fabric behind him was enough answer. Neryu suddenly stiffened, going ramrod straight as his face paled. “What did Neryu here talk to you about?”

“Th-th-th-th-th-th-,” Keely stopped, suddenly getting up and sprinting out of the room, the sound of sniffling following her out. Now Lance felt bad for trying to make her speak. He should’ve known she wouldn’t be comfortable about it. 

“It looks like you’re safe for another day, Neryu,” Mav spoke easily, covering Keely’s exit as if it had been nothing. Piri looked hesitant, torn between going after the girl and staying to continue her briefing.

“But I’m not guilty!” Neryu insisted as Revrik released his arms. Lance stared him down, taking another step. Neryu flinched. 

“Real solid reason there, Sherlock. Looks like you’re shit out of luck though, so hand _all_ of your devices over. You’re on probation for now, until this mission is over. The Rebellion will decide whether or not to keep you that way,” Lance said. Neryu winced, before begrudgingly complying, handing Lance every one of the five devices on him. He looked terrified. _Good,_ Lance thought, _he should be._

Piri looked nervously out among them, and Lance knew it was time to close discussion about Neryu’s supposed double-crossery and return to the matter at hand: Were they all about to die?

>

**Mission Log File – 349-002  
USER : Dioryne **

****

_Neryu was almost instantly outed. That’s the fastest I’ve ever seen a double-agent get called out. I like this guard despite never having seen his face, if only for his effectiveness. He wears a mask at all times like me, and that’s a bit concerning, but I should be one to judge. He could be like me, hiding who they are, what they are, or maybe he has a different reason. Whatever it is, I hope it doesn’t end up getting us all killed. The briefing ended with the unanimous decision to wait it out. Maybe they haven’t noticed us, or something. Whatever, this’ll end in a conflict anyways. Special Ensign Dioryne signing off on Day 1._

>

**Mission Log File – 349-003  
USER : Revrik**

****

_I am keeping an eye on Neryu as per instruction of our Blade security guard. He has not made any overly suspicious moves as of yet, but only time will tell if he is truly a member of the Chameleon Network. That is what the current group thought is. Today consisted of watching over our data collection, watching spikes in the data, or any sign the Shade is attempting to interfere with the data collection process. It hasn’t moved an inch from where it stopped sometime yesterday at around 1500 hours. All of the members of the envoy are doing fine as of right now, though I do worry for Keely. She reminds me of my daughter. High Admin Revrik of Interdimensional Paradoxes signing off on Day 2._

>

**Mission Log File – 349-004  
USER : Keyleva**

****

_I couldn’t tell everyone what Neryu talked to me about on that first day, because I was suddenly under a lot of pressure to say it, and my stutter happened again. It happens when I get nervous, and it was an anxious situation. Nevertheless, I must state what he told me here. He knows my parents were double agents, killed when I was just a cub. I, however, am nothing like them. I refused to join the Chameleon Network, and he started threatening me, even in the same tone of voice. I believe Rayul can keep me safe from him, and I believe it is time to show him my testimony, even if I can not say it myself. < That is where I ended six hours ago. As of now, my testimony has been recorded, and Neryu is locked in this vessel’s holding cells (they were designed for holding new life forms to study, but it seems they have a different purpose now) and now we wait for the Shade to move. We can only hope it doesn’t. High Apprentice Keyleva of the Blade signing off on Day 3. _

>

**Mission Log File – 349-005  
USER : Piri**

****

_Neryu was locked up yesterday, if High Apprentice Keyleva did not record that. He was confirmed to have a place in the Chameleon Network, confirming its existence for the first time in 5,000 years. The Shade has not moved, and the data is coming in well. We will have all the data we need by tomorrow, if everything goes right. Special Information and Analytics Officer Piri signing off on Day 4._

>

**Mission Log File – 349-006  
USER : Mavrina**

****

_Rayul does his job especially well for such a young kit. He’s been the only one to uncover agents of the Network and confirm its existence in 5,000 years, and he did it after only a day in the culprit’s presence. I will have to put in a word of commendation with Kolivan to get him promoted. Today, the last of our data that we needed we got, and we should be ready to go as soon as we get up tomorrow. We have permission from our sponsors to leave the equipment here, should something prevent us from going to retrieve it, as it should be untraceable and we’re currently pinned down by the Shade. Rayul has done an excellent job of monitoring the Shade for any activity, but so far, nothing has happened. Neryu is still in lock-up, and shows no signs of trying to escape. High Leader of the Sciences Mavrina signing off on Day 5._

>

**Mission Log File – 349-007  
USER : Rayul**

****

_Neryu’s part of the mission was successful, and from what Mav and the rest are telling me, the data-gathering portion of the mission has also been successful. Neryu shows no signs of escaping, but he’s been awfully twitchy lately, so I’ve been keeping a bit of a keener eye on him. However-_

~

Lance looked up from where was writing up his report for the last day. “What do you _mean_ Neryu’s not in the cell?!” Revrik sighed, looking equal parts irritated and weary. 

“I don’t know, Rayul. It seems like I blinked and he was gone. I came to you as fast as I could after I realized what had happened,” Revrik explained, eyes meeting his in determination. Lance sighed and stood up. Pressing a button on the control panel before him, he leaned a bit farther down. 

“Mav, I need you to run the cameras on the equipment and find Neryu. He’s missing and I’m willing to bet he’s not in the ship anymore,” Lance said, and he could hear Mav move as she went from the Commons, where she probably was with Keely, Dio, and Piri.

Mav’s voice responded a moment later, ringing in the room around him, “I’ve got him. He’s not very far away either. Sending you his location now.” A picture popped up in his mask a minute later, as he was preparing to step outside, and he knew exactly where Neryu was, and where he was heading. 

“Thank you, Mav. Heading out now,” Lance told her as he stepped out of the ship. An image of Mav popped up in the corner of his mask, and she nodded. 

“Be careful out there, kit. I will watch over you from here,” and then she was gone, her line going silent. He started off, running with purpose over the ruined expanse of the Galra homeworld. 

><

“I wonder how Number 3 is doing on his mission,” Coran mused to himself as he wiped down the cryopods. Usually, he did this with one of the paladins, but, as they were all out on their separate diplomatic missions, he decided to do them by himself. They were due for a cleaning, after all, and they hadn’t been used in movements. Keith would have been here with him and Allura, but he had opted to join the Blade in training. 

Allura, as far as he knew, was on the deck, looking over the starmaps and waiting for any distress beacon that might come to them. He continued cleaning; humming a little tune his grandfather had often hummed when had been working on this very castle. Over his humming, he began hearing footsteps, hurrying as thought there was something to hurry about, and they came to a stop outside the door of the cryo room. He turned, just in time to see Allura catching her breath, eyes wide with concern. 

“What’s happened, Princess?” Coran asked, putting down his rag to meet her halfway. She shook her head, opening her mouth and then closing it, like she had not clue as to what to say. 

“Coran!” She chose instead, “Something’s happened to Rayul! Something with the envoy mission went wrong, and, and, from what the scientists told me, he was hit by a long range sniper. He’s not conscious! They called us for help, because we have the cryopods, but-,” Coran cut her off. Lance had been injured, and they needed to get there quick. For that, he needed her to calm down. 

“Have you wormholed us already?” Coran asked. She nodded, eyes almost wider than they were before. 

“Then I will meet them,” Coran replied, already starting for the docking bay, but Allura’s hand stopped him. 

“Keith got back just before I got the call. He volunteered to say and receive Rayul. I need you to get the pods ready,” Allura told him, regaining some of her command. He nodded. 

“Already done, Princess,” Coran said, already moving to the one cryopods he’d managed to finish. Allura nodded, and she began to rush out, returning to her post. 

_Number 3…,_ Coran thought, uploading Lance’s regular vitals to the pod to prepare it for him, _what have you gotten yourself into this time?_

><

**Daibazaal  
One Hour Ago**

Lance raced through the equipment, until Neryu finally came into view. He picked up the pace, choosing to round the alien, giving him a better chance at a successful capture. 

As he got closer and closer still, without the alien looking back even once, he snaked both of his hands around the handles of his pistols. And that’s when Neryu decided to look back, straight into Lance’s eyes. Lance expected Neryu ‘s eyes to widen, falter in his stride, or some sort of reaction that included becoming the anxious mess that was himself, but none of that happened. Any reaction that wasn’t what actually happened. Before Lance could fully realize what was happening, Neryu reached into his uniform’s pocket, pulling out two knives. Knives that he then proceeded to throw with astonishing accuracy directly at Lance. 

Lance pushed up on the balls of his feet, propelling himself up and over the blades, and landing back on the balls of his feet. Lance hadn’t actually expected to land that particular front flip. He’d only ever landed it during training that one time, which had allowed him to beat out the Blade equivalent of Shiro (but he was an asshole) for first place in the “graduating” class of Blade members. That was a story for another time, however. 

Neryu kept running, and Lance forced Lance to pick up the pace. He was getting a bit too close to the Shade, for Lance’s comfort. They would be entering the range of most snipers soon, and while there hadn’t yet been any activity from the Shade-, Mav’s voice interrupted his thought process, just as he reached Neryu, landing an expert hit to the back of the alien’s neck, knocking him out cold. 

“Get to cover! Sniper spotted at a loading bay at your 5 o’clo-,” but it was too late. Lance felt the shot as the other sniper pulled the trigger, and felt it even more as it hit, somewhere just under his ribcage, ripping straight through him before burying itself in the ground behind him. 

At first, he felt nothing, but he knew it had happened. It was a startlingly clean shot, but it was not a kill shot. Whoever had taken the shot had either messed up or had not been given kill orders… Lance’s thoughts froze as he hefted Neryu up and threw him to the side, behind a rock. Lance dove for it before the pain could start affecting him. 

“Mav, I need a pickup. M’shot,” Lance said, even as his mind raced. _Had Lotor known it was me?_ Lance thought, even as the pain crept in, slowly but surely crowding out the rest of his thoughts. His breathing became labored as the full brunt of his wound hit. He coughed, blood splattering on the inside of his mask. 

“We’re coming, kit! Just hold on!” Mav replied, voice high with worry. She had always looked out for him, checking up on the one time he’d gotten sick, and holding him if he went to her in the middle of the night about a bad dream. She reminded him of his real mother, sometimes. 

“I got Neryu,” Lance said, struggling to keep the creeping black out of his vision. He could feel his body losing strength, trying to drag him into the black. He smiled. At least he had done that much. “Give m’money to V’ltr’n, tell em’ m’sorry,” Lance said, voice fading, even despite his best efforts. 

“Of course, Lance! But please, try to stay awake for them! They want you more than any amount of money, kit. Stay awake for them… stay awake for me-,” her voice led him into the black, even as he tried to fight it. For Pidge, who he thought of as a younger sister, for Hunk, the best friend he’d ever had, for Coran, who was so much more than just the Princess’s advisor, for Allura, who was such a beautiful person and supportive friend to have, for Shiro, who felt responsible for his disappearance, for Keith, who-, well, for the person he’d come to love despite all the odds. 

They’d never know he’d been there, despite it all, even if it was just for that short time. God, he was such a coward…

><

_One Hour Later_

Pidge tapped the notification on her screen with boredom. Her mission had been simple, get rid of the new small Galra base on Arus and now she was required to stay here and help the new Arusian civilization sort themselves out. Right now, the two leaders of the main factions were battling it out (in debate, extremely boring debate) on who was to become the new Representative of the Arusian race within the Alliance. 

It was from Allura, and it started with telling her the new location of the Castle (they’d apparently wormholed) so she could get back home, and another piece of information that had her frozen, so much so that the Arusian translator sitting next to her had touched her arm, making sure she was alright. Pidge nodded, but knew she wasn’t. She hadn’t gotten shot, but it felt like it. 

Rayul was in the pods, and they didn’t know whether he was going to make it out of them. As soon as the debate was over, and Pidge was allowed back to her lion, Green greeted her with a soothing purr. 

_“The Blueling will be alright, my paladin. Blue has confirmed as such. I believe it is prudent to believe her, since she has not yet begun grieving: What I am trying to say, Pidge, is that he will be alright, and Blue knows it. You should not worry,”_ Green said as Pidge punched the wall of rock that surrounded the Arusian village. 

“I know,” Pidge whispered out loud, almost as if to herself “I know, Green.” 

_“But something else bothers you, my paladin,”_ Green prodded, emanating her best soothing purr. Pidge leaned back against the wall, tears blurring her vision. 

“It’s just that, ever since I found out who Rayul was, I just, I knew something like this would happen. That idiot caught himself up in a bomb blast, for Christ’s sake,” Pidge said, taking her glasses off and allowing herself to cry, for once in a long, long time, about the idiot she unfortunately thought of us a brother. 

_“I can understand that, it is how I feel about Red, a lot of the time. He is too reckless with himself and his paladins,”_ Green told her, appearing beside her as she deactivated her camouflage. _“Would you like to go to him now?”_ Green asked after a moment. Pidge nodded, but said;

“I should really stay here, they don’t have anyone else to moderate this,” Pidge said, but Green just chuckled. 

_“The Alliance moderator is finally here, you know,”_ Green explained, and Pidge shot up, wiping her eyes off and putting her glasses on as she strode into her lion. 

“In that case, we’re out of here Green,” Pidge said, sliding into the pilot’s seat. Green laughed, and offered her determination. Pidge nodded. “Did you tell them we were leaving, Green?” Pidge asked, watching the Arusians gather around her lion as it ascended. Green huffed, offering Pidge the mental equivalent of an eye roll. 

_“Of course, my paladin. What do you take me for, Red?”_ Green asked, and Pidge laughed. Pidge doesn’t think Keith would’ve found that joke funny, because him and Red are so similar, but it’s extremely funny to her and Green. 

“Alright, Green, we’ve got work to do.”

><

Rayul was heavy in Keith’s arms as he took him from the large Galra lady that had been holding him, worry and stress marring her features. A smaller Galra girl was peeking out from behind her legs as Keith took him, looking equally as worried. In fact, all of the people that had come to the door behind the large Galra looked worried. Even the masked one, with the way their shoulders slumped. 

Keith turned on his heel as soon as the other was safely in his arms, and started hurrying towards the cryopods. The other was unconscious, and even Keith had flinched when he’d seen the whole. Looking down at it now, Keith fought not to throw up. It went straight through; Keith could see the floor through it. Picking up his pace, Keith tore his eyes off the wound to look where we was going. 

As soon as he passed Rayul off to Coran, who looked terrified, like the Galra in his arms was especially dear to him, Coran shooed him out, recommending, “You should take a shower, Number 4. Blood doesn’t come out of the floors well, I’m afraid.”

There was a slight, faint tremor to his voice that told Keith he was trying his best to remain calm despite the circumstances. 

“Ok-,” The door shut behind Coran, and Keith was left to wonder what the hell was happening. 

He left to shower, thoughts swirling around like tornado in his mind. 

><

**One Day Later**

Lance’s eyes slid open, and immediately slid back shut at the brightness of the room. It smelled like a hospital, Lance decided, but it was more familiar than a hospital. He feel forward when he tried to step out, and prepared himself to fall flat on the floor. His face was cold, which meant he didn’t have his mask on. He panicked about this for exactly a fraction of a second as he fell, until he was caught in someone’s warm arms. They were small, not exactly Coran or Matt or Nyma or Rolo, and he froze, struggling to open his eyes again against the dimmed light. 

“Hi,” they said, a voice he knew very well, a voice that had wished him luck on his mission, the very mission that was coming back to him, the one that had landed him here. 

“Pidge?” Lance asked, surprised for once to hear his own voice. Pidge shifted him in her arms as her face came into view. Her eyes were red, like she’d been crying, and she was smiling up at him, even if her eyes were still sad. 

“Hey, Lance. You feeling better?” Pidge asked, a slight tremor in her voice. Lance flinched, expecting her to start yelling at him any second now. Instead, she gently set him upright and asked, “Can you walk if I help you?” Lance nodded, his voice failing him in light of Pidge helping him to the exam table. He looked around. Matt, Coran, and his two crew members were nowhere to be found. 

“W-why aren’t you mad at me?” Lance asked as she sat him down, and then sat down at the table across from him. She sighed, and shook her head. 

“I am, but since I understand why you did what you did, I’m not going to yell at you. Especially not when I know you’re still trying to keep it a secret from the rest of the team that doesn’t know and I’m pretty sure Allura’s monitoring this room like crazy,” Pidge explained, and Lance flinched. 

“She’s watching the cameras?” Lance asked, turning is face downwards. Pidge nodded, “But I hacked them to run a loop of your pod blinking and saying you’re okay. 

There was a moment of silence then as Pidge allowed Lance to take in everything, and as she pulled her thoughts together.

“You really scared me, you know.” Pidge said, breaking the silence after a minute. Lance stiffened at that. 

“I know,” Lance said, and when he didn’t look up, Pidge got up and walked so that she was right in front of him. She brought her arm up, and gave him a light punch to his shoulder. 

“Don’t do it again, Lance. I can’t bear to lose my brother again,” Pidge said, prompting Lance to bring his head up to meet her eyes. She was smiling, tears gathering in the corner of her eyes. 

“Brother?” Lance asked, eyes wide and surprised. Pidge nodded, and leaned into him, wrapping her arm around his waste. Her hair was up in a ponytail, he noticed, a small one, but it was still there. Oh, how much he’d missed. He relaxed into it as she squeezed, and started crying harder. 

“I’m sorry,” Lance whispered, hugging her back, “I’m so, so sorry, Pidge.” 

“Are you going to stay, now?” Pidge asked, once her tears had slowed. He nodded into the hair on top of her head. It reminded him of what it felt like to hug his niece. He laughed through his own tears. Of course, how could she think anything else? They were his family now, and he’d been an idiot to leave them a second time. 

“Yes, and I’m never leaving you guys ever again.”


End file.
